File picture
KAHUTIA
For the first time in six years the Kahutia Bowling Club took out the Bill Edwards Tankard.
On their home greens last Wednesday, the Kahutia bowlers triumphed by 15 points to 9.
The Gisborne Bowling Club had won the trophy for the past five years.
Six triples teams from each club took part.
The best-performed Kahutia teams were Pat Griffin (skip), Murray Owen and Joe Wimutu, and Judy Taylor (s), Jock Smith and Alan Thomas/John Scammell. Both had two wins and four points.
Teams with one win and two points were Mike Chisholm (s), Joyce Wagner and Frank McLoughlin; Murray Murton (s), Mo Kapua and Chris Hewson; and Lyn Trueman (s), Bill Scott/Bill Campbell and Ray Young. Ray Taylor (s), Betty Jackson and Neville Wagner had a draw (one point).
The best-performed team from Gisborne, with three points, were Rex Richardson (s), Ted Mehrtens and Beverly Davy.
Forty-two bowlers entered the Ryman Healthcare Kiri Te Kanawa Retirement Village Optional Triples.
Only two games were played during the afternoon.
Judy Taylor skipped the winning team and was ably assisted by Alan Thomas and Ian Johnston. They had two wins and a differential of +16.
Second place, with two wins and +13, went to Pat Griffin (s), Marilyn Knowles and Alistair Johnston. Tom Johnston replaced Alistair Johnston in the second game.
Third were Gary Tocker (s), Ann Bates and Chris Hewson, with two wins and +7.
Sponsor’s representative Pip Griffin presented the prizes.
Charlie Ure leads the midweek aggregate with 38 points. Only one point behind is Frank McLoughlin, who is three points ahead of Richard Mann, who has 34.
In fourth place is last season’s winner, Murray Murton, who is seven points adrift of Ure at this stage.
Needing to make up ground in fifth-equal place are Ray Young, Alic Brown and Jock Smith on 29, Lyn Trueman on 28, Alistair Johnston on 27 and Brian Cairns on 25.
This Sunday the club’s senior men’s pairs will be completed. Play will start at 9am. Two-lifers Vern Marshall (s) and Robin Jefferson will play last season’s winners, one-lifers Murray Murton (s) and Charlie Ure.
POVERTY BAY
Two weeks ago the club hosted an optional single-entry open triples tournament sponsored by Beetham Lifestyle Retirement Village, and it was pleasing that one third of the entrants were from Gisborne and Kahutia clubs.
Ten teams played four games of 10 ends in section play. Winners were decided on game points and ends won. The conditions of play included re-spotting a killed jack in order to keep the play continuous. This feature was readily accepted by players.
At the end of play, Larry Kaloucava (s), Mo Kapua and Joe Wimutu were the only unbeaten team. They scored eight game points and won 25 ends to claim first prize.
In second place were Maurice Taylor (s), Marilyn Knowles and Tam Buckingham with six points and 23 ends, followed by Ian Carroll (s), Geoff Willson and Ngawai Turipa with six points and 19 ends.
It was gratifying that four of the 10 visitors received prizes, which were presented by Robin McGreivy on behalf of Beetham Village.
The following weekend the club completed its senior triples championships for both men and women, in hot and windy conditions.
Playing 12 ends with three bowls a player, the nine teams were well balanced for experience.
In Round 3 of the women’s section, Dawne Abraham (s), Sheila Grant and Ngawai Turipa had a close encounter with Shirley Scott (s), Kathy Carroll and Lesley Holmes.
After seven ends, Abraham led 9-2, but in the next four ends Scott’s team became reinvigorated to pull up to 10-12. The last end was clearly one shot to Scott, with a close measure for a second to draw the game. However, Abraham won the measure and the game.
Jan Kingsbeer (s), Agnes Gray and Val McGreevy received a bye to the potential final, with two lives intact, against the Abraham team.
After the allotted ends, Abraham was the clear winner, 15-6. This left both teams with one life in the final.
In this, the roles were reversed. After seven ends, Abraham led 7-5 but Kingsbeer and her team came back strongly to win the championship in fine style, 15-7.
The men’s chart was far more complicated with byes. In Round 4 Larry Kaloucava (s), Mike Travers and Eric Craill managed to take a life from Mark Bain (s), Denis Francois, and Denis Crone.
Jon Davies (s), Barrie Denham and Bruce Ball received a bye to Round 5, where they met team Kaloucava to battle for the privilege of meeting Bain, who had a bye to the final.
Davies won five of the 11 ends and scored eight shots, but excellent drawing from Travers and especially Craill, together with some accurate weighted shots from their skip, resulted in scores of four, five and six towards a winning score of 19-8.
The heat of the day was taking its toll, and Bain’s team had the advantage of their bye to cool off.
Although Kaloucava took the early lead, the younger, rested team had more accuracy when it counted. They would probably accept that luck played a part too!
Each end was exciting to watch, with frequent potentially winning shots from both sides.
All six players gave a great display of drawing to the jack, resulting in some very tight heads.
Kaloucava never gave up, and produced some accurate, aggressive bowls to the end.
But Bain showed superb skills and took control with some multiple scoring ends to accumulate an unassailable lead, 19-5 after 11 ends, to claim the title.